Will Unasur rise from its ashes to reintegrate the region again?

The former president of Colombia and former secretary general of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), Ernesto Samper, stressed that the regional integration bloc is likely to, once again, position itself as an organization of great importance for the peoples of the south.

In an interview with the Venezuelan journalist Esther Quiaro, Samper said he was «very satisfied» by the efforts made by Alberto Fernández. Currently, the Argentine president took the first step for the re-institutionalization and resurgence of Unasur.

«The spirit of Unasur is in the region and it is felt (…) Unasur will surely rise from its ashes, because this region is hungry for integration», stressed the Colombian.

In this sense, Samper stressed that Unasur «is reconstituting itself in Buenos Aires». President Fernández even provided a temporary headquarters to resume the agenda of this important South American integration entity.

The diplomat highlighted that – for example – “the bust of Néstor Kirchner that adorned the headquarters in Ecuador, the digital archives of Unasur and the documentary archives of integration (…) are all in Buenos Aires. At this time the headquarters is in the house of the Great Homeland».

Unasur was boycotted, in recent years, by right-wing governments in the region. Between all of them, they practically sentenced the bloc to his death. And this fact took place with the betrayal of Lenín Moreno in Ecuador. However, its reason for being is still alive in the South American peoples.

Popular advance for the rebirth of Unasur

Samper foresees that as progressivism advances, it will regain spaces that the extreme right abandoned in recent years. There will even be several countries that will join to promote the convergence of the different regional mechanisms. However, he considers that the most important task is to recover Unasur.

In this regard, he mentioned the latest electoral processes that occurred in Bolivia, Chile and even in the United States. All these events add up to what Colombia and Ecuador are experiencing, where changes are already evident from the popular forces. All these factors together vindicate the purpose of Unasur.

From Bolivia, he stressed the importance of the triumph of Luis Arce. Samper defended that that victory allowed the recovery of the democratic continuity that was broken when the victory of Evo Morales in 2019 was ‘not recognized’. In addition, an extreme right dictatorship headed by Jeanine Áñez was put to an end.

New winds in Chile and the United States

Regarding Chile, he stressed that there was an important advance towards a new model of State and Government. He recalled that this is a position that leans more towards the principles of Unasur. In the southern country, the Constitution created by the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship has been put to an end. At that time, the leftist forces were murdered, tortured, persecuted and disappeared, who were precisely the majority when Salvador Allende was ruling.

Meanwhile, regarding the US elections, he highlighted the importance of confirming Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump. «It could be one more step on the road to democratic opening and the culmination of the conservative hegemony that currently governs the region», he said.

Finally, Samper did not confirm whether as a member of the Puebla Group he will attend Venezuela to observe the legislative elections on December 6. However, he promised that he will seek a way to be aware of the Venezuelan process that seeks to re-institutionalize the Legislative Power, corrupted by the extreme right that led the institution to remain in constitutional contempt so as to give way to the farce of the parallel government of Juan Guaidó.

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